Louis of Nassau, Lord of De Lek and Beverweerd

Louis of Nassau, Lord of De Lek and Beverweerd (1602-28 February 1665) was lord of the estates of De Lek and Beverweerd and the illegitimate son of Maurice of Orange and his mistress Margaretha von Mechelen.

Biography
Louis of Nassau was born in 1602, the illegitimate son of Maurice of Orange and Margaretha von Mechelen. Louis joined the Dutch States Army after the death of his brother, William of Nassau, and he fought at Den Bosch in 1629 before becoming a colonel in 1632 and a regimental commander in 1635. In 1640, he defended the Dutch cannon from falling into Spanish hands at Hulst, and he later befriended the young William II, Prince of Orange (he accompanied him to England to fetch his bride Mary, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange). Louis was an Orangist until William's death, when he decided to join Johan de Witt's administration as a First Noble of Holland. In 1658, he became Governor of Den Bosch, and he served as ambassador to England from 1660 to 1662 before dying back in Holland in 1665.